Sunrise Realty Trust Secures $165M to Fuel Southern CRE Lending Boom

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – March 05, 2026 – Sunrise Realty Trust, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNS) has significantly fortified its financial firepower, announcing the expansion of its senior secured revolving credit facility to $165 million. The move, bolstered by a new $25 million commitment from Customers Bank, signals a major push to capitalize on the robust commercial real estate (CRE) market across the Southern United States.

The expanded facility, which builds upon an existing relationship with East West Bancorp, Inc., enhances SUNS's capacity to originate new loans, fund existing commitments, and manage its growing portfolio. The deal also includes a provision to increase the total facility to $200 million, subject to certain conditions and the addition of more lenders, providing further runway for growth.

This capital infusion arrives at a pivotal moment for both the company and the markets it serves. Leonard Tannenbaum, Executive Chairman of SUNS, framed the expansion as a strategic step to enhance the company's market position.

“We’re excited to add Customers to our financing group as we continue to broaden and diversify our bank relationships,” Tannenbaum stated. “Increasing total commitments to $165 million further strengthens our liquidity profile and enhances our ability to act quickly on attractive, well-structured opportunities while maintaining a disciplined approach to credit and portfolio construction.”

Capitalizing on the Southern CRE Boom

The decision to expand the credit facility is deeply rooted in the economic tailwinds sweeping across the Southern U.S. The region continues to experience an unprecedented influx of population and businesses, creating fervent demand across multiple real estate sectors. This demographic and corporate migration has transformed cities like Miami, Houston, and Nashville into national hotspots for CRE investment.

Proceeds from the $165 million facility are earmarked to directly finance SUNS's pipeline of transitional CRE projects—properties undergoing repositioning or redevelopment with the potential for near-term value creation. Research indicates that markets across the Sun Belt are ripe for this type of investment. The Southeast’s industrial sector, for example, has absorbed over 545 million square feet of space since 2019, while key metropolitan areas exhibit exceptionally low vacancy rates. In Miami, a burgeoning tech and finance hub, retail vacancy sits at a tight 2.8%, and office demand is surging. Houston, ranked as a top CRE market to watch for 2025, continues to post steady job and population growth, fueling its industrial and retail sectors.

By securing this flexible capital, Sunrise Realty Trust, which operates under the Tannenbaum Capital Group (TCG) Real Estate platform, is positioning itself to be a primary lender for sponsors looking to acquire, renovate, and stabilize these assets. The funds will allow SUNS to act with agility in a competitive landscape, providing the value-add capital necessary to improve properties and meet the demand for higher-quality products from new residents and businesses.

Diversification and Resilience: The Customers Bank Partnership

The addition of Customers Bank (NYSE: CUBI) to the credit facility is more than a simple increase in capital; it represents a strategic diversification of SUNS's funding sources. By bringing in a new, high-performing banking partner alongside the facility's originator, East West Bancorp, SUNS mitigates risk and enhances its financial resilience. This move is indicative of a broader trend among sophisticated lenders to build a robust and varied network of capital partners.

Customers Bank is a formidable ally. As one of the nation's 80 largest bank holding companies with over $24 billion in assets, it has a proven track record and a clear strategy for growth in commercial real estate. The bank's own financial reports reveal an aggressive expansion in the sector, with its non-owner-occupied commercial real estate loan portfolio growing nearly 28% year-over-year. This growth is supported by a dedicated Loan Syndications Banking Team launched in 2023, designed specifically to participate in and arrange complex debt financing for sectors including CRE.

For Customers Bank, participating in the SUNS facility aligns perfectly with its strategic goals of expanding its CRE lending footprint and partnering with established platforms. For SUNS, it secures a relationship with a dynamic and growing institution that deeply understands the commercial real estate landscape, ensuring a stable and knowledgeable capital partner for the long term.

A Signal of Confidence in Transitional Real Estate

This expanded credit facility serves as a significant market barometer, signaling strong lender confidence in both SUNS's specialized lending model and the underlying value of transitional CRE assets. In a market that has navigated economic uncertainty and interest rate fluctuations, the willingness of established institutions like East West Bancorp and Customers Bank to commit substantial capital is a powerful endorsement.

Transitional assets, by their nature, carry a different risk profile than stabilized, long-term-lease properties. They require lenders with deep underwriting expertise and a clear vision for value creation. The commitment to SUNS suggests that sophisticated financial institutions see significant opportunity in this space, particularly within the high-growth Southern markets. It validates the investment thesis that providing flexible bridge capital to experienced sponsors can generate attractive, risk-adjusted returns.

Furthermore, the structure of the financing—a senior secured revolving credit facility—provides SUNS with the operational flexibility needed to effectively manage its portfolio. Unlike more rigid financing, a revolver allows the company to draw, repay, and redraw funds as needed to match the lifecycle of its loan originations. An earlier SEC filing related to the original facility noted it was secured by substantially all company assets and subject to a borrowing base, with an interest rate of SOFR plus 5.50% and a 4.00% rate index floor—terms that reflect a well-structured, institutional-grade lending arrangement.

Executing a Disciplined, Credit-Focused Strategy

The transaction is a clear execution of the overarching vision of the Tannenbaum Capital Group. TCG Real Estate, which includes the publicly traded SUNS and a private mortgage REIT, has built its reputation on a disciplined, credit-focused strategy. The group emphasizes a bottom-up, research-driven approach to identify opportunities where it can provide innovative capital solutions while carefully balancing upside potential against downside risk.

The group's stated focus on top-tier CRE assets in Southern U.S. markets with strong economic tailwinds is not just a mission statement—it is the core principle guiding this capital deployment. The expansion of the credit facility provides the necessary tools to pursue this strategy at scale. It enables the TCG platform to continue its work in a shifting lending market, prioritizing transactions with a significant equity cushion and avoiding the high-leverage situations that can introduce instability.

With this enhanced liquidity, Sunrise Realty Trust is well-equipped to deepen its footprint as a premier institutional lender in the South. The firm can now more aggressively source, underwrite, and structure deals that promise attractive returns, further cementing its role as a key financial partner for real estate sponsors transforming the landscape of one of America's most dynamic regions.